Your Routes, Reimagined in January 2024 

Big changes are on the horizon for travel in Blackpool, and we're thrilled to share an early insight into what's coming your way. Starting 7th January 2024, we're reimagining our services to make your journeys smoother, more reliable, and easier to navigate with better connections. 

What's Changing? 

We're simplifying our network with new service names and numbers, but don't worry – most routes will remain familiar. The big news? Easier to use buses, grouped together, getting you get where you need to go, quickly and efficiently. 

Grouping for Greater Convenience 

Our new look network involves grouping similar routes which share common start and end points to give you more choice over which bus to use. For instance, we’ve created the '5' group (more below!), comprising of Services 5, 5A, 5B, and 5C, all passing through Victoria Hospital. This gives you four conveniently grouped services for travel between Blackpool and Victoria Hospital. It's all about giving you more choices and better connections. 

Importantly, you can continue to benefit from the improvements to our network for the same great price with single adult bus fares capped at £2 until December 2024!

Let’s take a look at what’s new 

Service 1 and NEW 1A: Service 1 will temporarily drop the seasonal Cleveleys to St Annes extension, now named the service 1A, during the winter. Service 1 will continue to run hourly between Fleetwood and its new final stop at North Pier. Together, they’ll make a 30-minute frequency all summer long. 

New Stop: There’s a change to where you catch your Service 1 in the town centre with bus stops at, and opposite, North Pier being the services start and end point. 

Service 3 and NEW 3A: Service 3 will now not travel to Cleveleys Park, starting its journey at Cleveleys Crescent. Not to worry though our new 3A will be covering this area and then continue to Mereside along what is currently the service 4 route. Between Service 3 and 3A, we’ll have services running up to every 15-minutes, taking you between Cleveleys, Bispham, Blackpool and Mereside. The service 3 will finish earlier than it does now but the 3A will continue into the evenings. 

The NEW Service 5 Group:  

This group offers the most significant route changes, greatly enhancing connectivity and clear choices. It provides an increased frequency, more journey options and expanded links between Blackpool and the further Fylde Coast. 

Service 5, Extended: will extend from Halfway House to Victoria Hospital exactly how it does now, before continuing along the former Service 2 route to Poulton every 30mins, giving a Poulton to Blackpool/South Shore link. 

Service 5A, From South Shore to Staining: Service 5A connects South Shore to Staining, following the usual Service 5 route from Halfway House to Blackpool Town Centre, then taking the old Service 15 route to Staining every 60 minutes. 

NEW Service 5B, we’re off to the Zoo: Service 5B is a fresh link from South Shore to Blackpool Town Centre and the Zoo, running from Halfway House to Victoria Hospital,  before heading to the Zoo every 60mins. 

Service 5C, our 2C, reimagined: Our service 5C is simply a reimagined Service 2C from Blackpool to Knott End. We’re aligning our 2C with the 5 group for a unified route to Victoria Hospital, offering increased frequency and options running every 40 minutes to Knott End. This change in frequency from 30 minutes to 40 minutes will give much better reliability along the route without impacting peak-time journeys. 

Together the 5 group gives you a 15-minute service from Halfway House to Victoria Hospital. “Which way to the Vic?” “Catch any 5!” 

Service 6: We’ve made some great enhancements! Service 6 now boasts more frequent departures running every 20 minutes and we’ve also extended the route, connecting you to the DWP offices at Peel Park more frequently and also an hourly extension to Whitehills Business Park! Careful taking those fence panels from B&Q onboard though.  

Service 7 and 7A: Seamless travel continues with Service 7, now concluding its journey in Blackpool Town Centre and offering a smooth transition to the 11A (more below) for those venturing to Lytham. Don’t worry you won’t need to change bus or buy a new ticket, just stay onboard for the next leg of your journey.  

Meanwhile, the revamped 7A (previously Service 9) continues to take you between Cleveleys and Blackpool via Bispham, Layton and everywhere in between.  

Together, the Service 7 group gives you at least a 15-minute service between Cleveleys and Blackpool and every 30 minutes to Lytham. 

The 11 Group, Tailored for You 

Service 11: Your familiar route just got better! While Service 11 maintains its regular route, we are tweaking the timetable for more efficiency, running every 30 minutes. This not only optimises our own resources but also ensures that you enjoy higher frequency within the 11 group and better interworking with other services such as the 5 group, in busy areas. It's all about making your journey smoother and more predictable. 

Service 11A, Your New Link from Town Centre to Lytham: Don’t worry, your days of hopping on Service 7 and seamlessly continuing to Lytham without any extra charge continue! That's what Service 11A offers. Once Service 7 reaches the town centre, it transforms into Service 11A, taking you through the usual 7 route up to Starr Gate, and then extending onto Lytham, just like Service 11 every 30 minutes. For you, this means more travel options and the regular convenience of staying on one bus for your entire journey.  

The 11 and 11A give you a combined 15-minute frequency from Blackpool to Lytham, which is better than the current frequency on service 11. 

Service 11B, A Familiar Route with a New Name: We're continuing to simplify your travel choices with the service 11B. The service you've known as Service 17 is now part of the 11 family, rebranded as 11B. This service will follow the same route you're accustomed to, with a slight adjustment in the timetable for better efficiency, now departing every 40 minutes. It's the same service, just with a new name, making it easier for you to identify and plan your trips to Lytham. 

Grouping the 11 services in this way gives you frequent, reliable bus services to Lytham, with a combined frequency between Blackpool to Lytham, of at least every 12 minutes. 

Service 14: In response to your valuable feedback, and the feedback from our teams, we're excited to announce significant improvements to Service 14, maintaining its familiar route and number while enhancing your travel experience.  

We've fine-tuned the timetable, adding more time to ensure smoother, more seamless journeys. Additionally, we're boosting the frequency during peak school and college times, now offering services up to every 15 minutes. This enhancement will help with your journeys whether daily, weekly or monthly, especially during those busy rush hours.  

Service 18: No changes here but some tweaking of the timetable to allow for smoother more reliable journeys.

Service 74/75: Consistency is key! Service 74/74 remains your reliable travel companion, continuing to offer the same great service you know between Fleetwood and Preston. Don’t forget, with the Government’s £2 fare cap you can enjoy all of our services for just £2 including journeys to Preston and everywhere in between. 

Stay Informed 

We understand that change can be daunting, so we're here to help. For full timetables and specific services, keep an eye on our upcoming releases. In the meantime, if you have any questions, take a look at our FAQs or, feel free to reach out to us on Facebook, via email at [email protected], or call us between 11 am and 3 pm at 01253 473001. 

You can also download a network map of our services from 7 January, here.

We're Listening 

Your feedback is invaluable. As we roll out these changes, we want to hear from you. Help us to make your travel experiences better than ever. 

Looking Forward 

These changes mark a significant step in our commitment to providing top-notch public transport. We're excited to embark on this journey with you and look forward to making your travels with Blackpool Transport more enjoyable and efficient. 

In short, you can expect more buses during peak times and a general increase in frequency across the board with simple easy-to-use groupings of services. This means less waiting and more travelling!